The Calling- 100 Themes Challenge
by Inuyashagirl2015
Summary: I guess it's time I finally try my luck on one of these 100 Themes challenges. Reiko/OC (OFC) Femslash, yuri, etc.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, my lovelies, it's time for me to undertake a challenge of fairly large proportions- I'm going to be doing one of the 100 themes challenges. To keep things fairly organized, I will be doing 5 per chapter, and I will do them in order because I'm not sure if you're supposed to or not, so I may as well. Enjoy, my lovelies!

**Now...ToPickAPairingLOL**

_**Pairing: **_Reiko Asagiri/Dragon (My OFC for everything)

_**Universe:**_ The Calling, but Reiko is 16 instead of like twelve or whatever.

_**Rating: **_T for now

_**Warnings: **_Femslash, language, potential sexual situations and implications, you now, the usual.

**I'mProbablyGoingToRegretPickingThiisPairing...**

1. Introduction:

I met Reiko for the first time when I was visiting my mother. My mother was very, very sick at the time, and she had to be hospitalized for several weeks because of it. I made time to visit her as often as I could, but I never felt like it was enough, which was why I was glad when she said that she had made a friend, even if I was little confused when she said that it was a girl my age. She talked about Reiko a lot over the phone when I called her, and it wasn't long before she was asking when I could come next because she wanted me to meet her. She said that the girl seemed lonely, since she didn't seem to have any friends her own age, and it would do me good as well, since I didn't have too many friends my age either.

I was more than a little anxious, when I finally agreed to come meet her, I'm not exactly great about dealing with people my own age, but it only took a few minutes of talking with the girl, who was only a little more outgoing than I was, for me to realise that we were definitely going to be good friends, at the very least.

2. Love:

Teenage lover is a weird thing. It's awkward and sweet and embarrassing and endearing all at the same time. You would think that it would be especially awkward with two people like us- two incredibly shy girls who could never quite figure out how to deal with other people our age, since they were so complex and illogical and unpredictable.

That, however, was not the case. In fact, I think that that's exactly why there were so few awkward silences, so few embarrassing moments between the two of us- Because we understood eachother, we knew the other was trustworthy and we knew how to interact with the other, so there was never any reason to feel awkward or embarrassed around the other. We knew that we could be ourselves and the other would love us, no matter what.

3. Light:

It's amazing how easily you can become accustomed to hospital lighting. It's just as amazing how it can go from a sign of ill omen to a beacon of happiness in a way. When my mother was admitted, I absolutely abhored the florescent lighting. It made me feel as if I was walking into a house of death whenever I went to visit my mother. After I met Reiko, my perception of it gradually changed. I still would have prefered daylight and I definitely wanted Reiko to get better and for her mother to come back, but at the same, I had never seen her in any other lighting besides what little natural light came through the small window of her hospital room. Even though I would have rather been sitting in a house, in a cafe, at a park, anywhere else, I knew that, at least for a while, this would be the only light I would get to see Reiko in. So, I go used to it, and eventually, I even began to like the florescent hospital lighting, because the time I spent with Reiko under the florescent bulbs contained some of the happiest moments of my life.

4. Dark:

It was very, very dark. That was the first and foremost adjective that could be used to describe the realm known as the Mnemonic Abyss. Now, more than ever in the short time between Reiko's death and when I ended up here had I more missed the hospital lighting. I knew the details of the hospital intimately, despite the weeks that I had avoided the place after Reiko's suicide. And everything was exactly as I remembered it, I assume because that was the last way that Reiko saw it too. If it wasn't for the suffocating, unnatural darkness, I could almost forget where I actually was, forget that I wasn't just coming to see Reiko once again, forget that she was no longer truly alive...

5. Seeking Solace:

Reiko was very good at putting on a tough face for the nurses. She simply chose to let most people believe that she was naive and that nothing was truly bothering her. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that she has ever let see the full extent of the toll that the situation is taking on her. She is trying to be positive, but she's not stupid enough to really believe that her mother is coming back. The surgeries, the treatments, they sickness, all of it is weighing heavily on her, but she won't let anyone else see that she's hurting.

I'm the only one that she trusts and cares for strongly enough to let her guard down around. I'm the only one she will let see her cry and I'm the only one that she goes to to recieve comfort when it all feels like it's too much. I'm not sure whether or not I should be happy about that.

**AaaaandI'mDone.**

That was fun. I can't wait to write more of these! See you next chapter, my lovelies!


	2. Chapter 2

So, here's the next installment. Meh.

**Meh**

6. Break Away

I have no idea what she did if she caught someone else. The few others that I had met in the Mnemonic Abyss had, obviously, not been caught by her, but they had said that they were terrified for their life, sure that they would join the ranks of the ghost if they were caught.

I did fear for my life... But only vaguely in the back of my mind. It wasn't the impossible, gripping terror that the others described. I felt like I would be in more danger if I were to run, anyway, so as the pale, familiar girl in the torn, familiar pink dress approached me, appearing to glide, rather than walk. I did nothing but stare at her, even as she reached up, wrapped her arms around me, locking me in an embrace that I knew I could not break away from if I tried. So, I simply didn't.

7. Heaven

"If I die, do you think I'll go to heaven?" Reiko asked, seemingly out of nowhere. I didn't have to think about it- She was a wonderful, undeniably _good _person, and she had had nearly unbreakable faith throughout the treatments. If she wasn't let into heaven, there was no hope for anyone. I simply nodded.

8. Innocence

I recognized the cat doll immediately. Before her death, Reiko had treasure the thing like she treasured basically nothing else. It was constantly either on her bedside table or, more likely, in her grasp at all times for as long as I knew her alive. After her suicide, I took the doll home with me. Her mother had abandonded her, so no one really argued at my taking it to remember her by. It sat on my nightstand in exactly the same spot as it had on hers. I went to bed and woke up to the sight of it every night and every day since her death. Now, I recognised the doll once again, clutched in a familiar pale hand, one true sign that there was still innocence in the girl that not even death could take away.

9. Drive

It was probably one of the most exciting days of either of our lives. The hospital was finally letting Reiko go out with me. It was only for an hour, this time anyway, she couldn't be in direct sunlight for more than a few minutes at a time and if _anything _went wrong, if she felt _anything _unusual or if either of us noticed her experiencing _any _unusual symptoms, I was to return to the hospital immediately.

Still, despite the short length of the trip and the paranoia over whether or not she was getting too much sun, whether it was too hot or too cold, if she was feeling badly, etc... It was probably the best drive around the city I had ever taken.

10. Breathe Again

I didn't cry when Kyoko told me through her own tears that Reiko didn't make it. Not because I wasn't sad about it, but because I simply didn't believe it. Reiko... Reiko surely wouldn't have done that. I accidently left my phone at home before I left, but surely nothing so drastic could have happened in those few hours that I was without it... It was only when I hung up on Kyoko that I noticed that I had several missed calls and voice mails. The last several were from the nurse, trying to get in contact with me, but before that were seven calls from Reiko. I numbly went to my voicemail box, and it was only as I was listening to my girlfriend asking me to please, please pick up, each becoming less hopeful and more hysterical, that it actually registered that Reiko would not draw breath again.

**Meh.**

I'm already regretting choosing this one. There's not nearly as much to work with as I would like and, because of the nature of the game and the plot and even the 100 themes list that I chose, there will probably be almost no funny and/or truly light-hearted ones. Oh well, I will stick it out, and I am enjoying writing it, it's just going to be a challenge to make each piece unique and not have them saying the same things over and over and over again for the twenty chapters that this is going to take. Whatever. As always, I hope you enjoyed it and I will see you next time, my lovelies!


	3. Chapter 3

May as well just go ahead and knock another one of these out tonight while I'm at it. Enjoy.

**NotMuchToSay**

11. Memory.

It was so many years ago, but it still felt so vivid. I was now in college, moving along with my life in spite of the tremendous loss, but there were still days that I would wake up from a dream of Reiko, sometimes alive, sometimes in the mnemonic abyss, and I would forget that I was twenty years old, not fifteen, and that Reiko was gone, this time for good. Then I would notice the cat that I still kept on my nightstand, and that would always snap me back to reality, remind me that she was gone and that all I had left of her were memories.

12. Insanity

There is a small, blurred line between insanity and loneliness. Reiko had no doubt stepped on and crossed the line. The very fact that the mnemonic abyss even exists is proof, and the ghosts of people whose lives she has taken are there to make sure that I can't forget. No matter how much I love her, I wish that if she had to be dead, then that she would be truly dead, not the insane, cruel mistress of this demented, hopeless purgatory.

13. Misfortune

Reiko knew, more than any other that I had ever met, what misfortune was. Her father left when she was very young, then she fell terminally ill at sixteen, which caused her mother and her few friends to desert her. But despite that, she pushed through everything. She was the strongest person I knew, and it seemed that she was handling everything so well, that she was recovering and had a definite, bright future ahead of her. Perhaps that's why it was such a shock when she took her own life after her online "friend" promised to visit her and then never came.

14. Smile

Her smile could always light up the room. No matter how her day went, no matter what treatments she had been through, no matter how sick she looked or felt, whenever she truly smiled, she became an angel. Her smile might have been the most amazing thing I had ever seen. That's why I made it my goal to get her to smile like that as much as I possibly could.

15. Silence

This room was not supposed to be silent. I had never been in here and heard nothing but absolute silence. Despite the fact that both Reiko and myself were quiet girls by nature, neither of us could ever be quiet for more than a few moments at a time when we were around the other. And besides that, there was the obviously ever present beeping of monitors and whatnot that were meant to make sure she kept breathing. But the once welcoming room, without the presence of the monitors and machines and nurses and the girl who I was so in love with it hurt was completely silent, and that unbearable silence chased away all vestiges of warmth.

**Yep,StillGoing**

Yeah, I'm defintitely going to write some more right now.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's some more. Enjoy.

**ToldYouIWouldKeepGoing**

16. Questioning

"Hey, if I find you incredibly attractive and want to date you more than I ever wanted to date any guy that I ever met, does that make me gay?" Reiko asked randomly. I blinked at the odd question and considered it for a moment.

"Not sure. I guess if it does, we're both gay, but that's okay, we'll be gay together, right?" I winked, not even bothering with subtlty.

17. Blood

No one would ever accuse me of being afraid of blood. The red liquid didn't strike fear into my heart. It simply didn't bother me. Or at least, it never had before. But now, seeing so much of it dried onto the street, the street itself taped off with that glaringly obvious yellow tape, knowing where and _who _it came from... Was very different. I had thought that they would have... At least cleaned it up by now...

18. Rainbow

It was storming, the night before I was pulled into the mnemonic abyss. I remember it clearly, because I had been staring out my window, thinking of Reiko, wondering if "The Black Page" would actually turn out to be anything when suddenly the room spun out of focus around me. Before I could even make a sound to catch my parent's attention, I was unconcious.

They say that time flows differently, more slowly, in purgatory than it does here, and it turns out that they're right. I spent several days in the abyss, but when Reiko finally let me go, it had only been a few hours. I was still sitting at my window, leaning heavily against it. The storm apparently, had just ended as I could still see water droplets on my window, but the sky was quickly clearing and as I looked out, I noticed a bright, beautiful rainbow streaking across the clearing sky.

19. Gray

You know that you're somewhere that you shouldn't be when you look around and the brightest colour you see is a dark gray. I had no idea where I was, but what I did no was that it was dark and that I didn't want to be there. I also knew that whatever happened after I left this room would be very, very important and that if I escaped, I would be a different person than I was now.

20. Fortitude

Reiko is the strongest person I know. I'm sure that if I had been told at an age like ours that I had a terminal illness and most likely would not survive, I would have given up then and there. If I were still suffering in a hospital more than a year later, if my parents both deserted me, I would have definitely given up the fight, taken my life perhaps, if it dragged on for too long. Thankfully, Reiko is much stronger than I am. She has faced the sickness and the doctors believe that she has a very significant chance of beating the illness and being able to live- After all, she took what was only supposed to be a few months to live and turned it into a year and a half. She can beat this disease. I'm sure of it.

**Meh**

16- Hah, finally got one that's not so serious! Anyway, there you go, my lovelies. Hope you enjoyed.


	5. Chapter 5

Yet another installment in this series, surprise surprise. I actually think that I might finish it before my next bulk post, since it will be a while after Christmas.

But anyway, on with the story!

**Meh**

21. Vacation

"Hey Reiko, I've decided something." I told the girl immediately as I arrived at her room. She looked up from her cell phone curiously.

"What have you decided?" She asked.

"We're gonna go on a vacation." I told her decidedly. She raised an eyebrow.

"A vacation?"

"A vacation."

"And, pray tell, how are we going to do that?" She asked, amused.

"Well, it's probably not going to be a very long one, probably not even a day, so maybe a trip would be a better way to describe it, but that's irrelevant. Kyoko said that after this treatment, you won't need the machines anymore, right? Just your medicine, so I'm thinking that after you recover from it, we can go on a trip together, maybe to the beach. We could go later in the evening, so it'll be dark when we get there, so you wouldn't have to worry about burning or getting too hot. What do you say?" I asked, hopefully.

She smiled and shook her head at my puppy dog look. "Car ride revelation on the way up here?"

"Absolutely." I grinned. "It could be just the two of us... Or maybe we can invite that friend of yours that you met online, if you want to. You can ask her tomorrow, that's when you meet her for the first time, right?" She nodded.

"Alright, it sounds like a plan. We'll go on a vacation." She confirmed with a smile.

22. Mother Nature

Reiko's death was a huge loss. Not just to me, but to everyone who had known her- All the doctors and nurses, the other patients and my mother, basically anyone who had known her was devastated at the loss, not to mention shocked. She was recovering, and the doctors and nurses were sure that, after the treatment she was supposed to receive on Saturday, she would start recovering in leaps and bounds, rather than baby steps as she had been. She seemed so happy. Who could have expected that one stupid, selfish teenager who decided to fake being her friend for kicks and agreed to meet her would be the cause of her jumping off of the window ledge. I don't know who that girl was, but I hate her, and I hope she finds out about Reiko's death and regrets her stupid prank for all eternity.

Everyone who attended the funeral was crying. It had been raining for days and the downpour seemed especially heavy right now. Even Mother Nature wept at the loss of such a beautiful young life, it seemed.

23. Cat

It was a beacon of safety. Though I tried my best, I was not always able to outrun to ghost, I couldn't always escape and hide from them. I had been caught, once, in the abandonded school. Yet I had not turned into a ghost myself, as I knew others had. I woke up, some unknown amount of time later, on the floor of the school and next to me sat that cat doll, glowing darkly as it's yellow eyes seemed to stare into me. I had noticed that there were never any spirits around the cat. Though I could not move it, some unseen force stopped me, whenever I was close enough to see it's glow, I knew that I was safe.

The doll's presence and safety let me know that, though she had dragged me into this purgatory, Reiko did not want me hurt by it, she still cared for me. At least, I hope so, because if not, I think the only other explanation there could be is that she doesn't want any of the other spirits to be the one to kill me, she wants to reserve that right for herself.

24. Not Time

Time does not exist here. Where other places are marked with the passing of days and nights, weeks and months, seasons and years, here there is only endless darkness. Time does not move here. Ironically, I imagine this is very similar to how Reiko felt in the hospital.

25. Trouble Lurking

The ghosts were obviously dangerous. No matter how many time I outran them or escaped, they always seemed to find me. I don't know what intentions Reiko had in bringing me here, but I hope that she shows herself and fulfils them, whatever they may be. I also hope that this wasn't her true desire in bringing me here, to watch me slowly drive myself insane as I search through different planes in the mnemonic abyss searching for her. I hope that she's not angry and hateful enough to wish that upon me.

**Meh**

Well, there's another one of these. See you next time, my lovelies!


	6. Chapter 6

Yup, time for more of this. I'm seriously thinking that I can finish this before I even get on to post it... Let's just hope I'm more than just hot air.

**GenericPageBreakText**

26. Tears

It was undeniably ironic. I was the one who had lived through her death and I was one the one who had been sucked into this dark, unholy abyss by her insane, deceased girlfriend, who had been hunted down by ghosts and had seen people die horrible deaths at the hands of these ghosts. I was the one with the hands constricting around my throat, suffocating me in the most painful way possible even as I tried to croak out the apologies that I had been wanting to give her since the day of her death- _I'm sorry I left my phone at home. I'm sorry I decided that it would be fine for a few hours even after I noticed I didn't have it. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me. I'm sorry that I wasn't enough to make you want to stay alive-_

And despite all of that, she was the one who was crying.

27. Foreign

The world was completely foreign to me. When that man- Makoto- When he explained to me that this world, at least some parts of it, were created by Reiko and the people she had dragged into it, I was shocked. Despite her death, I would have never suspected that the bright, cheerful girl that I loved so much could conjure up a place that was so... Dark, so completely out of place with almost everything that I had thought that I knew about her...

28. Sorrow

I could have stopped it. I _should _have stopped it. If I just hadn't left my stupid phone at school, hadn't decided that a few hours without it couldn't have hurt anyone, she might still be here. No, she would still be here. I made her promise me that she would never do anything like that, and her response was... She agreed that she would never do something like that, but only as long as I promised that I would always be there for her. I broke my promise, and she, in turn, felt no need to keep her's.

29. Happiness

"Aww you two are so cute together." Kyoko cooed, not for the first time in the several months that we had been together. It still made me blush and bury my face into Reiko's shoulder though.

"I have to admit, I'm honestly a little bit jealous. I mean, you're just teenagers, but you're both so mature and you've already found someone that's just perfect for you. I only wish that I could be find someone that would make me as happy as the two of you make eachother." And honestly, I hoped that she would find someone that could make her this happy, because I don't think that there's anyone in the world who is happier than I am right now.

30. Under The Rain

"Reiko, are you sure that we should be doing this?" I asked worriedly as the pale girl pulled me outside. While the firm grip she had on my wrist made me happy, since she was clearly getting stronger, I was more than a little bit uneasy with what we were about to do.

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun. It's just a little rain and it's really warm outside and I'll change as soon as we get back it, so it'll be okay, I promise." Before I could even reply, we were outside in the warm summer shower, crossing the street quickly.

"Okay, but if you get sick... I'm not going to be happy." I couldn't think of a better threat. Sue me.

"Whatever you say, love, whatever you say." The dark haired girl replied absently as she looked up towards the stars, the light reflecting off of the water drops sliding down her face as if to reflect the serenity of the heavens onto her features.

**GenericPageBreak**

The ending of the last felt really stiff to me... But oh well. Hope you enjoyed, my lovelies, and as always, feedback is appreciated but never required. Goodbye for now, my lovelies!


	7. Chapter 7

31. Flowers

The hospital sent me the flowers. They simply had nothing else to do with them, seeing as Reiko's mother seemingly disappeared out of existence. They hadn't even been able to contact her after the funeral. I had no clue if she had any idea that the daughter that she had abandoned was dead. I was the closest one to Reiko, most of the nurses and several of the doctors as well as the few other people who knew Reiko and cared enough to come to the funeral had known about our relationship. Because of this, my room was filled with flowers, some white, some brightly coloured, some darkly, all nothing more than pretty, scented reminders that my love was gone forever.

32. Night

Daylight was merely a myth in the mnemonic abyss. The recreated places, the school, the bedrooms, the hospital, all were shrouded in the cloak of night, undoubtably symbolic of the fact that light could never touch Reiko again.

33. Expecations

Expectations versus reality in my current romantic relationship, which is with another girl and will hopefully last forever- "No, I don't need to change out of my PJ's, I'm going to see my girlfriend and you know we'll be spending the day in bed together." Expecation of most people: Probably a lot of sex followed by bouts of cuddling and more sex. Reality: Talking about anything and everything followed by bouts of cuddling and more talking in the tiny bed in her hospital room.

34. Stars

The waves splashed calmly several yards away from us as we stared up at the stars together.

"Do you know what that one is?" She asked, pointing towards the sky. I leaned my head against her's and followed her arm upwards until I discerned which grouping of stars she was refering to.

"No, what is it?" I asked, leaving my head there on her shoulder.

"I don't know, that's why I was asking you." We both laughed and stayed like that, gazing up at the beautiful constellations that we had no name for. In the back of my mind, however, there was still the ever present regret, regret that we had never gotten to do this, to go on this trip together, that I never got a chance to experience this and that soon I would have to wake up and once again try to face the world without her. But, I shoved the regrets down and forced myself to live in the moment, dream or not, because every second I spent with her, was unnendingly precious to me.

35. Hold My Hand

There are some defining moments in every relationship, some moments that start it and some that shape it into what it is or will became. For many people, that first defining moment that starts the relationship is either a first kiss or a first date. It was not so for us. Yes, we did have a first kiss and a first date, but those weren't what started our relationship, what first put us on the road to becoming what we eventually would. No, for us, the thing that start our relationship was a moment of simply physical touch and companionship, the first time that, as I was sitting in a chair across the hospital cafeteria table from her, she reached out and took hold of my hand, stopping me mid word with her sweet smile and gentle touch.

**AndThat'sTheEndOfThisChapter**

Hope you enjoyed, my lovelies! Feedback is, as always, appreciated but never required!


	8. Chapter 8

36. Precious Treasure

Her cell phone was precious to her. It was the last thing her mother ever gave her and her last link to her mother before and after she disappeared. It was her one connection to the outside world and she absolutely loved it. She spent a lot of time on it, I knew, but it was never around me. And I was kind of glad about that, because that meant that I was more precious to her than even her most precious physical treasure.

37. Eyes

It was her eyes that startles me more than anything. They were the soft black orbs that I knew, that I had known and had missed and dreamed of for weeks after her. They were orange, glowing harshly with slit pupils, like a cat. But despite the difference, despite the fact that I resented them, I still loved them purely because they were part of her, whatever it was she had become now.

38. Abandoned

The room was cold, far colder than it had been before Reiko had come and made herself known to me the first time. I could see my breath as I sat alone in the corner of the dark room, trying not to cry. She had called me a liar. And the worst part was that I was one. Even as she banished that other ghost, even as she protected me, she called me a liar and then she left. She abandoned me, just like I had abandoned her on the one stupid day that I left my phone at home.

39. Dreams

The dreams were only thing I had left of her. The mnemonic abyss... Well, I'm not sure if it was destroyed and she and everyone in it were released or if, when she forgave me, she cast me out of it to save me from it's darkness before it could swallow my heart and my mind like it had her's. I really hope it's the former, but I'll never know for sure. I know that Rin was released, we've been talking for a while, and we've become very close seeing as we're the only ones who know what we went through and whom we can actually talk to about Reiko, the Mnemonic abyss and what happened in it. I still dream of Reiko, almost every night, but it's not like it was before. Before, the dreams were all about her death and in the dreams she was always miserable and in pain and said she hated me and I always woke up sobbing violently. These dreams are peaceful, almost happy. Sometimes about things that have happened, sometimes about things that might have happened eventually. In the dreams, Reiko was always happy and smiling, and when I wake from the dreams, I am usually no more than distantly sad and almost always at peace, sometimes, even happy afterwards.

Maybe this is wishful thinking, just a young girl's imagination trying to get her over the loss of the girl she loved, but... I would like to say that the dreams now are, somehow, Reiko's way of telling me that she's okay now and she wants me to be happy too.

40. Rated

Kyoko didn't approve of the movie. She insisted that it would be much too scary for the two of us and would most definitely give both of us nightmares. She spent hours, from the moment we told her of our intention to the moment we pressed play trying to convince us not to watch it. I can only assume that she watched and completely regretted it. Reiko was the one who continually assured her that we would be fine and that we could totally handle it. She was the one who really wanted to watch it, since it would be her first real scary movie, I had already seen it. She also wanted me to watch it with her, and I, of course, agreed.

"Don't worry Kyoko," I told the nurse as she pursed her lips as I put the "The Grudge" into my laptop and set it on our laps in Reiko's bed as we waited for the movie to come up, "We can handle it. Besides, it's only rated PG-13."

**End**

I was a little bit shocked by the rating of the movie, but I guess it kind of makes sense. I haven't seen that movie in so long...


	9. Chapter 9

41. Teamwork

"Reiiiiikooooooo..." I whined as I got penalized yet again by the stupid game.

"You were the one who chose to play the game, not me." She teased, flipping a page in her stupid book that didn't even seem interesting.

"Yeah, but it didn't think it would be this hard." I pouted, "Come on Reiko, you're so much better than me at these games and I only need one more object and I can move on to the next round, but I have no idea where it is, because this apparently isn't a freaking steel pipe." I huffed, nudging the laptop so that it was half on my lap, half on her's, successfully pushing her book out of the way.

"Fine." She rolled her eyes and looked at the "Steel pipe" I was pointing at. "Dragon... That's clearly a mechanical pencil." I blinked, looking at it again. Yup, that made more sense. "And I believe this is what you're looking for." She pointed to something in the top left corner without even having it look at the screen for more than a few seconds.

"Oh." I said dumbly as I clicked it and the game proceeded to the next level. "Cool. Good teamwork."

42. Standing Still

The first time I visited Reiko by myself, I found her in bed, and when she saw me, she smiled cheerfully and greeted me as brightly as she could, despite her obvious illness. The second time was the same. So was the third. By the fourth time, I knew I was becoming dangerously close to falling in love with and found myself not caring all that much.

The fifth time was the first time it was different. The first time she truly began to let me in and see her as she was, not just the part of herself she would allow me to see. When I walked into the room that day, she was not in bed, for once. Instead, she was standing next to the hospital window, which was open, letting the wind and some of the rain into the room soaking her feet and the edge of the nightgown as she stood staring out the window.

"Reiko?" I asked, "What are you doing? Come on, you're gonna get sick if you stay there, it's cold outside." She didn't turn around, just stood there, still looking out, and for a moment, I wondered if she had even heard me at all.

"And if I did?" She murmered, so quietly that if I had not closed the door behind me to block out the noise of the rest of the hospital, there's no way I would have heard her.

"Seriously, Reiko, please get away from the window. You know you're at a really high risk of illness and serious illness at that because of your condition." For the first time, I began to wonder if perhap her getting sick wasn't the only risk present right now. Her room is on the third floor...

"So? Does it even matter what happens to me anymore anyway?" I could hear her choking up as she whispered, clutching her cell phone tightly in on pale fist without turning towards me.

"Of course it does." I took a step towards her and another, noting that she made no move to stop me. When I got close enough to touch her, I gently rested a hand on her shoulder, and when she gave no protest, I carefully wrapped my arms around her waist, pressing my face into the alarmingly cool skill of the back of the juncture between her shoulder and neck. "I don't know what I would do if you were gone."

43. Dying

"I'm dying. You know that right?" The statement was unexpected, and seemed very much out of the blue. "At any minute something could go wrong and I could be gone forever." The statement was far more matter-of-fact than I expected.

"I... know..." I replied after a moment, then shook my head, "Well, I didn't actually know, but I kind of... figured." She smiled bitterly at that, "I knew as soon as I met you that that would be the case, and, to be honest, it kind of worried me for a while. I was scared to let someone else in my life who was at the same risks as my mom, after all, losing one person to cancer would be hard enough, let alone two. But," I hurried on, not letting her latch on to that, "After I started talking to you, I realised something. I realised that you're strong and that if anyone could survive it, it would be you, and I realised that, even with the risks present, even if I did end up losing you, it would be worth it to have you for any amount of time."

44. Two Roads

"What do you think?" I asked, slowing down as we neared the turn in the road where it split off into two paths, one clean and safe, one older, rockier and unknown, "Back to the hospital, or do you want to go on a little adventure before the sun rises." The clock read four thirty-one, meaning we still had a little bit of time before sunrise, though that was our absolute latest curfew, according Kyoko.

Reiko stared, eyes both tired and excited at once as she considered. Going back to the hospital would definitely be safer, leading back to the relative comfort of the familiar hospital room, where we would be chastised by Kyoko for staying out so late despite the fact that we had a couple hours before her set "curfew" anyway. Or...

"We still have some more night left to burn." She smiled, looking so beautiful and alive in the green sundress that I had let her borrow for our excursion as opposed to the sickly pink hospital gown, "Let's go on one more adventure tonight." I grinned as she squeezed my hand and sped up.

45. Illusion

I collapsed as the cool pressure against my chest, the only thing holding me up, disappeared. The afterimage of yellow, catlike eyes was burned into my mind as I caught my breath. It wasn't the first time I had seen her in this despicable place. Not the first time by a long shot, but it was the first time she had touched me as more than a fleet nudge, a phantom brush against my skin that I could have imagine oh so easily. I had wanted to believe that it was her, yet I also had wanted so badly for it to be an illusion. For her to be in heaven among angels where she belongs.

The burning memory of cold lips against my own as a body, so much shockingly stronger than me now, held me in place, and I was finally forced to admit to myself that she was more than just a trick of my mind. She was no illusion. Reiko was here. What she was here for, now that was the question.


	10. Chapter 10

46. Family

I didn't expect my mom to show up that night at the hospital. I was surprised she wasn't resting, she still needed plenty of time to recover. I didn't expect the dish with food for three in her hands either, but I wasn't complaining in the least. Reiko smile was heart breakingly bright as she carefully ate her portion, repeatedly thanking my mom throughout the meal.

I think I was the only one who noticed Kyoko when she entered the room for a moment. At first I thought she was going to protest at the non-hospital food Reiko was eating without prior approval, but she could clearly see it too, and that's why, with only a small smile towards me when she saw me watching, she carefully and quietly backed out of the room. It wasn't exactly protocol, but she wasn't going to ruin Reiko's moment of undefiled happiness with her family- Her true family, who would be there for her no matter what, even if blood wasn't the foundation.

47. Creation

The place, according to Makoto, was a creation of Reiko's. A projection of her mind to make a new, dark plane of reality. Apparantly, after weeks and months of being dead, this is what she had turned into. This nightmare was her creation.

48. Childhood

"So, that's you?" I asked as she carefully held up the picture as if it meant the world to her. And perhaps it did.

"Yup. I was only two at the time I think. It was before my dad left, that's him standing there." She pointed, "And obviously the lady holding me is my mother." She smiled sadly as she gazed down at the photo longingly. I looked at toddler Reiko for a moment before finding I was rather unable to contain myself.

"OH MY GOD BABY YOU IS SO ADORABLE!"

49. Stripes

"So, um, what's with the new look?" I asked slowly. She blushed and glared at me.

"The hospital ran out of the current gowns so that had to pull out some of the older ones for tonight." She tried to look seriously irritated, but as she pouted, all I could do was laugh at how freakishly adorable she looked in it the old fashioned, striped hospital gown.

50. Breaking The Rules

"Come on Reiko, just a bite." I whined, waving the spoon full of delicious chocolate pudding in her face.

"Not yet. When Kyoko comes in next, we can ask her then, but I'm not breaking the rules for just one bite of pudding."

"But that's exactly the point- Surely one single bite isn't really breaking the rules right? A taste won't change anything at all." I pouted, watching the pudding wobble on the edge of the spoon, realising that if she didn't acquiesce soon, then I would certainly have to consume the bite myself or lose it on the floor or her bed sheets.

"Technically, I think it is," Kyoko's voice interrupted as she walked into the room, smirking fondly at the two of us, "But even I have to agree, a bite or two wouldn't hurt anything at all in this case, Reiko."

"Ha! I told you!" I stated triumphantly, then could only watch in horror as my enthusiasm resulted in a small dollop of pudding falling onto her white bed sheets. Aaaaaand there goes the neighborhood.


End file.
